75th anniversary of Feller’s Opening Day no-no

Bob Feller Museum Opening Day no-no display.

Today is the 75th anniversary of baseball’s only Opening Day no-hitter.

Twenty-one-year-old Bob Feller used his “heater from Van Meter” fastball on April 16, 1940 to mow down eight White Sox batters as the Cleveland Indians topped Chicago 1-0. Feller’s parents and sister, Marguerite, were among the 14,000 fans at Chicago’s Comiskey Park that afternoon.

“I knew I had a chance for a no-hitter in the ninth,” Feller told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “but I tried to put the thought out of my mind by reminding myself you never have a no-hitter until the last man is out.”

Feller threw two additional no-hitters, tying Larry Corcoran and Cy Young for a major league record that would later be broken by Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan:

The Cleveland Indians in 1957 retired the number 19 to honor Bob Feller, who pitched three no-hitters.

Feller nearly had some company on April 16, 1940. With all 16 teams in action, Boston Red Sox southpaw Lefty Grove took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before it was broken up with a single by the Washington Senators’ Cecil Travis. Grove retired the game’s first 21 batters but lost the perfecto on an eighth-inning error. He settled for a two-hit 1-0 complete-game shutout.

Asked by an AP reporter if he was disappointed by Travis’ single, Grove said, “No. No-hitters are bad luck.”

Author: Dirk Lammers

Dirk Lammers is a veteran journalist who began rooting for the New York Mets in the early-1970s when the team’s no no-hitter count was barely 2,000 games old. Lammers has since turned his research into Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More Than a Century of Pitching’s Greatest Feats (Unbridled Books).

“Like the book’s subject, Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders is full of intrigue, suspense and just enough random good fortune to go down in history. In revisiting the unforgettable and revealing the forgotten, Dirk Lammers deals a quirky treasure for baseball lovers.”

Jon SpringerAuthor of Mets by the Numbers

“I do think you have a winning idea. This is a book that should sell. Bo Belinsky was my favorite, followed by Don Larsen, and the only one I saw in person, Bob Forsch.”

W.P. KinsellaAuthor of Shoeless Joe, adapted into "Field of Dreams"

“… a fascinating book that will appeal to both the historian and the die-hard fan.”

Jeff AyersThe Associated Press

“It’s fantastic. My kinda baseball book. Just the right combo of pure stats, information, obscure history and incisive commentary. I know I’ll be going back to it often for reference (and, hey, maybe a song or 2!).”

Steve WynnMusician, The Baseball Project, The Dream Syndicate

“In “Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders,” Lammers takes a topic that might seem narrowly focused and opens it up with all sorts of interesting angles.”

Ross AtkinsChristian Science Monitor

“… an exuberant romp through the history of one of baseball’s most impressive achievements.”

Paul HagenMLB.com

“As an official scorer, I’m aware of the tension and drama when a pitcher takes a no-hitter into the later innings. In Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders, Dirk Lammers has captured this drama and added to it with insights and analysis for those who achieved this honor. Mixed in with fun facts about more than 100 years of no-hitters, Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders is entertaining and enlightening.”

Stew ThornleyMLB Official Scorer for Minnesota Twins games

“… delightfully written … story after fascinating story about the most compelling characters and unlikely events.”

Matt SutherlandForeword Reviews ★★★★★

“This volume is the complete – and I mean fully complete – story of the no-hit games in the long history of Major league Baseball, and it will serve as the place to look if one wonders why baseball makes such a big deal of no-hit games. With prodigious research, Lammers has produced not just the bare bones of each no-hit game but adds to each game story the little and telling details that are so alluring.”

Fay VincentFormer MLB commissioner, foreword writer

“Never have so many no-nos inspired such resounding yes-yeses! A baseball research book with a sense of humor—novel concept.”

“I loved reading about all of the no-hitters. There are a lot of things that I had no idea about, like “Hooks” Wiltse also losing his perfect game in the ninth inning but saving his no-hitter. Even if you do not know anything about baseball, this is a great book about the great history of the game.”

Milt PappasMLB pitcher 1957-1973 ('72 no-no)

Most recent no-nos

There have been 299 no-hitters in MLB history, with the last thrown 8 months,13 days ago.